Enchanted: The Title Says it All

The calendar year is nearly over, so what I'm about to say is a bold claim, but I stand by it: Enchanted truly is the feel-good movie of the year. The movie combines old-school Disney animation and live-action filmmaking, with a little modern-day computer-generated animation tossed in, and the result is nothing less than magical. Disney movies have often provided a fantastical escape to far-off places, and Enchanted pushes this to an even more exciting level. The standard Disney magic coexists with the real world, making viewers (well, at least this viewer) wonder... maybe magic mirrors, fairy princesses, evil queens and "true love's kiss" really do exist. The feel-goodness is simply infectious, and you can't help but be swept up in this world of wonderful possibility.
The story follows Giselle, a woman from the land of Andalasia who wants nothing more than to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden). Yet Edward's mother (Susan Sarandon), determined not to be removed from her throne when her son gets married, prevents Edward and Giselle from sharing "true love's kiss" by catapulting Giselle into present-day New York City ("where there are no happy endings!"). There, of course, Giselle embarks on many hilarious adventures, made funnier by cultural misunderstandings. That's not the end of the magical story, though, so read more

When Edward leaps into real life to save Giselle, his mother sends one of her guys (played by Timothy Spall) after him to poison Giselle, though Giselle's faithful chipmunk friend Pip scuttles into New York as well, trying his darndest to thwart the poisoning. Meanwhile, Giselle befriends Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey), enchanting both of them — and, in certain musical numbers, all of New York — as she waits for Edward to find her.

There has been much talk of Amy Adams' superb performance and I can't join the resounding chorus of praise quickly enough. She is utterly committed to this role, from her wide, unblinking, sweet eyes to her supple wrists making dainty princessy hand gestures. You fully believe that she's a fairy princess because, well, she seems to believe it so much. The rest of the cast also appears to be having a lot of fun. James Marsden is perhaps my favorite of all the supporting characters. His oblivious nature and overzealous princely grandeur never failed to make me giggle. Susan Sarandon is appropriately villainous, her bizarre drag-queenish attire nothing short of fabulous.
There is one moment toward the end when I started to become annoyed that the story would fall right in line with some of the older Disney princess stories in which the female characters are either "good" and therefore helpless, or else they have too much power, which makes them evil. Also, the whole idea of women in fairy tales dying unless they are kissed by the right man makes me queasy. Yet Enchanted has quite a few twists in store for us, creating a sweetly romantic ending in which everyone — male and female alike — has a moment of strength and triumph.

I know many folks not technically in the targeted age bracket for this film who are making Enchanted outings this weekend — be it for Patrick Dempsey, the adorable Amy Adams or because, well, even as a twenty-something it's still exciting to see a real-live fairytale princess on screen. This is perhaps the true allure and success of Enchanted: it puts a modern face on age-old stories, reigniting a childhood belief that maybe — just maybe — fairytales are real. And that feels good.

Sweet movie, with some funny scenes. Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey were wonderful! The only thing I was disappointed with was Idina Menzel as Nancy. It was a very unflattering film for her; she looks great on the stage, (she is a broadway singer) but not so much in movie close-ups. She is a terrific singer, and they didn't use her voice for anything. With all the singing in the movie, they could have had her sing a little. That was my only disappointment. The movie was very fun. :)

I'm sorry but I don't agree. The first half of the movie was hilarious and so cute, I laughed and laughed (the cleaning scene with the NYC "wildlife") but the ending ruined the entire movie for me. They took it way too far and I hated it, so did my mom, aunt and cousin. If you go and find the first half hilarious but then start thinking, oh my god this is getting bad...leave, because you won't be missing anything.

I went last night with my mom and my 12-year-old cousin. They thought it was too cheesy and over the top but I LOVED it (I'm 23). I asked them what they expected of a movie that is about a cartoon coming to life. I'm glad that so many other people loved it. It was just so fun. There was a preview for PS I Love You before the movie and it looked really great. I'm really looking forward to it.

I highly recommend it. It is really funny and charming. I took my 5 year old niece to see it today and she loved it. Even my husband was laughing out loud. I thought it was going to be cheesy but I'm glad I was wrong.

My husband and I took our 6 year old to see it Wednesday and it was wonderful!
The 20 something guy sitting next to me with his girldfriend was spontaneously clapping along with all the little girls at the end of the Central Park scene so that has to be a pretty impressive endorsement.
It really does enchant you. Amay Adams just plays it so sweet and un-ironic that you ahve to fall in love with her earnestness. How she is not a huge megastar is beyond me?!?!?! And McDreamy is 100% dreamy in it too!